In many emergency situations, it is difficult to convey a location and/or the fact that an emergency situation exists to someone who can help. For example, people calling “911” from an unfamiliar location sometimes have difficulty providing the operator with precise location information. Thus, valuable time may be lost in ascertaining the location to which emergency personnel should be deployed.
Many modern portable or mobile communication devices do include location receivers, such as those supporting the global positioning system (GPS). Using such devices, precise location information may be conveyed for an emergency situation. For example, 911 may be dialed, or some other emergency button may be pressed to indicate an emergency situation. However, such conventional approaches may not be equipped to detect emergency situations when such a button may not be readily accessible.